There are always exceptions. A few years ago there was someone that had a inverted V that worked well for DX. It was found that it was feed with open wire feeders that acted as a vertical antenna with top loading.
If your antenna works well be happy. Ham radio is a great hobby. 73 Bruce-k1fz http://www.qsl.net/k1fz/beverage_antenna.html On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 02:14:48 -0400, Don Kirk wrote: Manuel (LU5OM) had been using an Inverted-L on 160 meters, and he recently switched to a shortened dipole installed as an Inverted Vee. Each of the last 3 mornings Manuel has been using his inverted vee and I have heard Manuel (LU5OM) all 3 days, and this Sunday morning I heard him for 1.25 hours running with a very constant signal that was able to overcome static crashes from lightning strikes. I made some recordings for Manuel and created a brief youtube video of him calling CQ on Sunday and here is the youtube video URL for those interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P56Rq-vCEEU&feature=youtu.be If Manuel were not transmitting (not calling CQ) you would think the band was dead, but in reality there has been pretty good propagation for long periods of time between Indianapolis Indiana and Argentina the past 3 days that I have listened. Also in the video I tried to briefly demonstrate for Manuel that the reduced RF gain trick provides very little (if any) improvement in my receiver performance on 160 meters when using my very old Kenwood TS-180s (contrary to what most others report with their receivers). Maybe I'm not doing something right, but I've never been able to find noticeable improvements (to any great extent) in my receiver performance by backing down my receivers RF gain control. Just FYI, and 73, Don (wd8dsb) _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband